Condo supply growing as home prices remain flat in Waterloo Region

New numbers from the Waterloo Region Association of Realtors show an opportunity for potential homebuyers.

When compared to last year, the latest statistics suggest more homes are available for purchase and at a cheaper price.

One local real estate sales representative said when the Bank of Canada dropped the interest rate last month, sellers jumped at the opportunity.

“We saw a lot more sellers excited about it than buyers because the reality is a 25 basis point rate drop isn’t going to change your purchasing power significantly. However, a lot of the sellers may have been thinking, ‘Hey, the rate’s coming down, all the buyers are going to flood the market again, so now’s the time to list.’ So we’ve definitely seen a pickup in inventory,” Shawn Ramautor, a sales representative with Royal LePage Wolle Realty said.

The average sale price for all residential properties was $790,945 in June. That’s a 3.3 per cent decrease compared to May of this year and 5.8 per cent lower than June 2023. But Ramautor said prices are not significantly lower.

“I would say they’ve not necessarily come down significantly. They’ve remained flat,” Ramautor said.

total number of homes for sale at the end of the month increased 75.5 per cent compared to June of last year.

Ramautor said the single detached homes market is pretty balanced. However, inventory of condos increased 103.1 per cent over a year. He said that makes it more of a buyers’ market for anyone looking for a condo.

“We did see a lot of condominium projects closing in 2022, 2023. And now with the anti-flipping tax, buyers had to hold on to it for a year before they can basically flip it or sell it, so now we’re coming up to that year mark, tenants are kind of moving out. We’re not seeing as many new projects coming on the market,” Ramautor said.

There’s now a 6 and a half months supply of condo apartments available.

“So it’s not overall shocking to what we’re seeing and it’s that sub $500,000 price point that we’re seeing a ton of supply on the market,” Ramautor said.

Ramautor said like most business, the real estate market is cyclical and another interest rate announcement is set for July 24th.

“The reality of the condominium market right now is it gives people a great entry point to get into the market, homeownership,” Ramautor said.